Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story
- October 2, 2018
- Agate
- 20h median play time
Going back to school is a surprisingly enjoyable experience.
Get on Steam"Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story" is a simulation RPG where you build and manage a hero school. Recruit students, train them in various skills, and send them on missions to grow your school's reputation. Balance administrative duties with battles in this unique blend of strategy and management.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
Windows
PlayStation
Reviews
- The game features a charming art style and cute character designs that appeal to fans of the genre.
- The class system allows for some customization and strategic planning when leveling up students.
- Missions are quick to complete, making it a good option for casual play and time-killing.
- Gameplay becomes repetitive and grindy, especially towards the end when missions with decent XP become scarce.
- The game suffers from numerous bugs, including a frustrating black screen issue that can halt progress.
- The management and building aspects are shallow, lacking depth and meaningful customization options.
- story128 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 80 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally considered short and lacking depth, with many players finding it generic and unmemorable. While some appreciate the initial concept and world-building, the execution is often criticized for being disjointed and filled with bugs that hinder progression. Additionally, the repetitive nature of missions and grinding detracts from the overall narrative experience, leading to a lack of engagement with the story as players progress.
“The graphics are wonderful, the story is thought out, and side quests provide necessary experience to go through the storyline.”
“The story has multiple endings, so there's replayability.”
“I love the student management system and I love the story idea (and am actually turning it into a D&D campaign), but the execution is just not up to the level I had expected and seen in previous versions of this game.”
“It makes no sense how pretty much any of the story beats go, especially the very end of the game.”
“Concerning the story: there is nothing special, just plain generic characters and a plain story about saving the kingdom; it doesn't offer anything memorable to remember this game.”
“Additionally, the story is just a patchwork where you 'save the world from evil' where your choices don't matter, because there are none and the villains are flat and one-dimensional.”
- gameplay27 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally described as simplistic and repetitive, resembling mobile games, which makes it easy to learn but lacking depth and innovation. While some players find it enjoyable and fun, especially in the context of grinding and completing missions, many express disappointment with its lack of unique features and overall balance. Overall, the game has potential but is seen as needing significant enhancements to elevate the experience.
“The gameplay is like a mobile game, but still fun.”
“I'm really looking forward to the next game in the series; if they took all these great ideas and basic mechanics and kicked it up a notch, it could be a truly great game!”
“Concerning the gameplay: I actually enjoy it; it's a typical action RPG where you go with your characters doing missions and grinding items, just you manage an academy and train students to graduate them, so in order to upgrade your academy.”
“But this doesn't change the simplistic gameplay and lack of any new unique features.”
“It isn't overly complex, and it's definitely a bit repetitive - if you want dynamic gameplay with lots of depth, I recommend you go elsewhere.”
“The gameplay is something you can find in mobile games nowadays that is a free game.”
- graphics20 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the charming chibi art style and overall aesthetic reminiscent of GameCube titles, while others criticize certain aspects as outdated, likening them to PS2 graphics. Despite some disappointment in specific artwork and technical issues, the visuals are generally described as cute and nostalgic, contributing positively to the game's charm. Overall, while the graphics may not be groundbreaking, they are appreciated for their unique style and appeal.
“The graphics are wonderful, the story is thought out, and side quests provide necessary experience to go through the storyline.”
“I love the random character models and overall anime aesthetic.”
“The chibi art style looks more like GameCube done right than a mobile game, and I love the aesthetic.”
“However, I am really disappointed by the artwork in Vahss.”
“It also doesn't add anything except for a graphics enhancement that, if we're being honest, makes it look like a PS2 game.”
“The anime artwork is decent enough; however, item crafting you do yourself could be better and easier to organize, as well as a few other things that give this otherwise fun game a few demerits.”
- grinding13 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, especially as they approach the end game where mission variety diminishes, forcing them to repeat the same tasks for experience. While some enjoy the leveling and crafting systems, many feel that the gameplay lacks depth and becomes monotonous, making it more suitable for casual play rather than a deeply engaging experience. Overall, the game is seen as fun for a short time but ultimately suffers from excessive grinding and predictability.
“This is not helped by the fact that as you approach end game, all the missions with decent XP dry up and you end up grinding the same repetitive missions.”
“The maps become highly predictable and tedious, and the random generator was constantly giving me strength-based students. Without individually clicking on each recruit, there was no way to scroll through recruit options, resulting in terribly unbalanced teams.”
“The game itself is too simple, like it's targeted for mobile gamers, as it's all about grinding to unlock more stuff with no depth.”
- replayability5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is a mixed bag; while it features multiple endings that encourage replaying, the lack of a New Game+ mode and limited endgame content significantly detracts from the experience. Players express frustration over the inability to replay quests and the overall scarcity of engaging post-story content, although recent updates have introduced some replayable boss quests. Overall, the game could benefit from additional features to enhance its long-term playability.
“The story has multiple endings, so there's replayability.”
“After finishing the game, I eventually stopped playing because there's no endgame content at all. However, I later saw the information that there's an update to the game that allows boss quests to be replayable.”
“Three aspects that would make this game more playable and enjoyable:”
“Not only did I have to play this on my PS5 to get it to work, but it also doesn't have a New Game+ mode or any kind of replayability!”
“After finishing the game, I eventually stopped playing because there's no endgame content at all. You couldn't even replay quests, and you'll have nothing to do at the end. However, I later saw the info that there's an update to the game that makes the boss quests replayable.”
“It doesn't offer any suitable endgame content. Other than the hard quests you find near the end of this game, you will not find any more playable missions to level your heroes, except for the training missions, which are not satisfying if you want to reach a high level. The final chapter just offers errand missions.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Overall, the optimization of the game is mixed; while it performs well with few major bugs, there are notable issues such as excessive load times and a lack of proper mouse support, indicating that further optimization is needed for a smoother experience.
“I played Valthirian Arc II a lot, and this completely blows it out of the water, from gameplay to appearance to overall performance.”
“Icons continue to refer to controllers; there is no real mouse support, no mouselook, no click to move, keys can't be bound to the mouse, etc. Clearly, no optimization occurred: the load screens are what I expect from much larger/more intense games, but what I expect from something that can be adequately rendered in a browser.”
“There's little weird things like a tutorial page popping up when it shouldn't, but no major bugs or performance issues.”
“That's right, performance!”
- music4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed feedback; while some players appreciate the victory music and find it enjoyable, others report issues with sound and music not playing at all. Overall, the music is considered a positive aspect, contributing to the game's fun experience.
“I like the music and the somewhat decent storyline.”
“Good music.”
“The only good thing this game has from the previous ones is the victory music.”
“I love to play your game and it is really fun, but there is one thing: I can't hear any sound or music.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is marked by significant bugs and glitches, with players reporting issues such as incomplete quest items and frequent freezing. While not entirely unplayable, these stability problems detract from the overall experience.
“The game is still buggy as I went into a quest which asked me to collect 14 items and I spent 20 minutes walking around the whole map trying to find them, and apparently only 12 of the 14 items spawned in the map.”
“There is a part two to this game, but the graphics are not as good, it makes my vertigo act up, and it freezes a lot.”
“Not horrible overall, but buggy.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is primarily conveyed through its art style, which some players find amusing, but overall, the comedic elements are considered limited. While the game allows for creative team combinations through passive and active skills, it lacks the depth and content found in other free-to-play titles with similar aesthetics. Players feel that the humor does not justify the game's current price point.
“The art is quite funny, and the game offers a unique way to set your heroes and teams with funny combos.”
“You can choose between passive skills and active ones to form humorous combinations, making the gameplay more entertaining.”
“The classes offered seem generic with other RPGs, but the ability to create funny team dynamics adds a layer of humor to the experience.”
